


Love's Never Come My Way (I've Never Been This Far)

by RavenpuffWrites



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Almost Kiss, Alternate Universe - Grand Theft Auto Setting, Canon-Typical Violence, FAHC, Fake AH Crew, Featuring platonic Battle Buddies cause I'm soft, M/M, Mostly Fluff, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Some hurt/comfort, Ways To Say I Love You, a lot of boys being idiots, background/implied Jeremy Dooley/Trevor Collins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-11-23 18:56:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20894501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenpuffWrites/pseuds/RavenpuffWrites
Summary: When he meets Gavin at a party, Ryan had no idea that in a single night the boy would change his life forever.Even though he never expects to see him again, Ryan is never able to shake their dance out of his mind.Of course fate seems to have different plans in mind for the two of them.





	Love's Never Come My Way (I've Never Been This Far)

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a fic idea I've had for a while that I've finally gotten around to writing. It is my first fahc fic I've ever gotten around to posting, so hopefully everything is in character but if not I really apologize. 
> 
> But the premise of this fic is that every chapter is going to cover a different way of saying "I love you". This is going to cover the relationship between Gavin and Ryan, but I might, later on, write some bonus fics looking at other characters, just because I really love writing stuff like this. But it depends on how I do with this one first. 
> 
> Okay, I'm done rambling. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy.

Ryan didn’t come to events like this very often. Fitting in with the highbrow society wasn’t his style, especially nowadays. Maybe once upon a time back when he was still a model he could blend into these parties as if he somewhat belonged. But he traded in his suits for a skull mask and a blood-stained jacket and left behind whatever small claim he might have had to parties like this.

Which was all to say that Ryan definitely had no business being at this party, but somehow, he had got dragged here anyways by Meg claiming “He owed her a favor.” And then Jeremy found out about the party and decided _he_ wanted to go and wouldn’t leave Ryan alone until he agreed to take him along.

Jeremy had disappeared almost as soon as they had shown up, slipping through the crowd to make his way towards the bar before Ryan could stop him. Meg had stayed with him only briefly longer before she too disappeared into the crowd when Ryan paused for just a second to admire a painting hanging in the house.

He had tried for all of ten minutes to hunt Meg down before giving up, finding a small table not far from the bar to sit and wait it out until she or Jeremy inevitable appeared again.

That’s when Ryan first sees him.

At first, it’s his jacket that grabs Ryan’s attention. From where he’s standing, the lights seem to dance off of the golden pattern on his suit, making him shimmer as if he was made of gold himself. He’s wearing sunglasses despite being inside, golden ones that match his jacket. Even the tip of his hair seemed to be gold and glistening, and Ryan wonders absently as he watches this mystery man if that was done by accident, or if he had deliberately chosen to style his aesthetic around the color of his hair.

Whatever the reason, the look seems to work on him. On anyone else Ryan would think so much gold looked obnoxious but for some reason this mystery man just seems to be able to work it. Maybe it’s the fact he’s not acting like he’s better than everyone around him, that despite his obvious taste for all that’s fancy, he wasn’t above making a fool of himself as he danced with his friends and laughed as though he was having the time of his life.

The mystery man pulled his sunglasses down to give one of his friends a disapproving look, and Ryan felt his heart skip just a little when he caught sight of the green eyes he had kept hidden all this time. He knew he should look away, that by now he had been staring too long and it was only a matter of time until he was caught, but he just couldn’t stop staring. It had been a long time for Ryan since someone had caught his eye and now that this mystery man had… he just couldn’t look away.

A small smirk had worked its way across the man’s face, and he pushed his sunglasses back on before he turned away from his friend and started to walk off the dance floor.

And straight over in the direction of Ryan’s table.

Shit.

Ryan quickly dropped his eyes towards the table, hoping beyond all hope he hadn’t actually been caught and the mystery man wasn’t making his way over right now because if he was then Ryan was fucking screwed.

The sound of approaching footsteps stopped besides Ryan table, but Ryan didn’t look up at first, hoping maybe they would continue in a moment.

When nothing happened, Ryan forced himself to look up, and come face to face with the mystery man.

“Hello, Love,” The man said with a distinctly British accent, pushing his glasses on top of his head as he very blatantly checked Ryan out. “I have to say, you’re nothing like type of person who I normally catch staring at me.”

Ryan raised an eyebrow at the man, feeling slightly offended despite the fact he could definitely feel himself blushing under the attention of the mystery man. Something that no doubt got worse when he laughed, light and airy, and said reassuringly

“I mean that as a compliment, love. Most of them men I meet in parties like this run a far bit on the creepy side. It’s a nice change.”

The man hesitated for a second before he sat in the seat across from Ryan, stretching his arm across the table as he introduced himself. “My name is Gavin.”

“I’m Ryan,” He said, shaking the offered hand and definitely not blushing when Gavin let his fingers linger a moment too long before he pulled away.

“What a lovely name,” Gavin murmured, smiling so softly that for a moment Ryan thought he had forgotten how to breathe. God, he really was out of the dating game if it was this easy for someone to fluster him. “What are you doing over here all alone, Lovely Ryan?”

“Well my friends dragged me here and then abandoned me,” Ryan started, causing Gavin to make a very quiet but sad noise that he didn’t entirely seem to be conscious of. It caught Ryan off-guard though (and made his stomach do funny things he wasn’t sure how to feel about), and he paused for a long moment before he was finally able to continue. “Yeah well, one went off to get drunk which was pretty much the only reason he came and to be fair I technically lost the other when I paused to look at something so…”

“You could be mingling, Ryan! Take it as an opportunity to meet new people, and have a little fun on the dance floor!” Gavin exclaimed, his eyes lighting up at just the thought, and Ryan couldn’t help but chuckle quietly at his enthusiasm. “Ryan, that’s what parties are for, Ryan!”

Ryan shook his head, taking a sip of his diet coke and grimacing slightly when he realized it had gone flat. “I don’t dance, Gavin. And I’m not exactly the mingling type.”

“Aw come on, everybody dances, Ryan!” Gavin argued, pouting slightly when Ryan shook his head again.

“Nope,” Ryan insisted, popping the p to emphasize his seriousness. Gavin pouted more, leaning across the table to grab one of Ryan’s hands, invading his space just enough that Ryan could smell his shampoo (it smelled like strawberries, something Ryan never would have guessed beforehand, but somehow seemed to fit Gavin perfectly).

“You don’t dance at all?” Gavin asked, his voice hardly above a whisper, his eyes searching Ryan’s for something the man couldn’t be sure of. “Not even for me, Lovely Ryan?”

Ryan’s mouth felt dry, and his heart felt as though it had leaped out of his chest and into his throat, making it impossible to respond. So instead he nodded, just ever so slightly, causing a wide smile to cross Gavin’s face.

He opened his mouth to say something else, but before he could there was the sound of someone calling his name.

“Gavin! We need your help!”

“Yeah Gavin, come do your job!”

Gavin sighed, softly and sadly, a pulled away from Ryan, straightening his jacket as he stood up. “Duty calls. Save that dance for me for later, yeah?”

Ryan nodded again, but Gavin was already walking off. Ryan watched him go until he disappeared into the crowd. He sighed, picking up his diet coke to take another sip before remembering it had gone flat. Figuring a walk would do him good to clear his head, Ryan got up and headed towards the bar. Maybe he could find Jeremy and make some sort of sense of what had just happened.

* * *

Somehow like clockwork Ryan eventually found himself sitting back at the same table he had before. Although he had found Jeremy, _briefly, _he was already well on his way to drunk and of absolutely no help to Ryan in figuring out what had happened with Gavin or if the boy had even existed at all. Honestly, he was really starting to doubt that he did by this point, considering it had been nearly two hours and Ryan hadn’t seen him again despite the fact his suit should have made him impossible to miss.

Not that Ryan was looking for him, or anything. After all, they had only talked for a few minutes and sure Gavin had flirted and promised he’d be back for a dance, but he probably said that to a lot of people. After all, he was gorgeous and Ryan… well Ryan probably looked closer to a suburban father of two (and that was on a good day).

So no, Ryan definitely wasn’t looking for Gavin and the only reason he kept looking up from his phone so often was that the people around him were slowly getting drunker and the last thing he wanted was for something to be spilled on him unexpectedly.

Yeah. That was definitely it.

Ryan was so caught up in _not _thinking about Gavin, that he missed entirely Meg walking up to his table, and only noticed she was there when she pulled out the chair and it scraped across the floor.

“Have you been sitting over here by yourself this entire time, Ryan?” Meg teased, but Ryan was hardly paying attention to her because standing just to the side was

“Ryan, you didn’t tell me you knew Turney, Ryan!”

Gavin.

His sunglasses were back on his face covering up his eyes, and somewhere along the way he had lost his jacket, which explains why Ryan hadn’t been able to spot it in the crowd, but there was no doubt that this was the same person from before.

Meg raised an eyebrow at Ryan, looking between him and Gavin with a look he couldn’t quite place. “The two of you know each other?”

“We’ve met,” Ryan acquiesced, a slight blush crossing his face even though he knew there was absolutely no reason. After all, he had only talked to Gavin. Even if Meg’s face was definitely implying she thought something else. “Gavin wanted me to dance with him.”

“He agreed to, Turney, can you believe it?” Gavin said, smiling widely like it was the proudest accomplishment of his life, causing Ryan’s heart to skip a beat. Gavin must have noticed this, because his smile slowly morphed into a smirk as he leaned closer to Ryan, adding “Course I got interrupted before it could happen but… there’s still time. Isn’t there, love?”

“Y-Yeah,” Ryan agreed, cursing himself for the way he tripped over his words. It was just hard to think straight with Gavin so close, hard enough to breathe let alone _speak_. “Yeah, there is.”

From behind Gavin’s back, Ryan could see Meg shooting him a disapproving look, which was weird considering she was the one constantly trying to set him up with people. Not that whatever was going on with Gavin was even close to being “set up”, maybe some light flirting sure but it wasn’t like this was ever going to be more.

“Maybe we could have that dance now, if you’re not busy,” Gavin suggested, speaking so quietly that Ryan just hardly picked up what he said. By the time his brain had processed what he had been asked, Ryan had run out of time to answer.

“Ryan! Ryan, I need your help!” Jeremy had appeared out of nowhere while Ryan was distracted with Gavin, and now he was tugging anxiously on his best friend's arm as he babbled, clearly drunk and in desperate need of advice. “Please, Ry, it’s an emergency.”

While Ryan had turned to look at Jeremy, Gavin had backed away, moving to stand beside Meg. When Ryan turned and caught his eye, he gave a sad smile.

“Rain check?” Ryan offered, standing up as Jeremy continued to tug on his arm, getting more forceful the longer it took for Ryan to respond.

Gavin nodded, although Ryan could tell he knew as well as him the chances of them meeting a third time tonight were not very high. “A raincheck sounds lovely, Ryan.”

As Jeremy dragged Ryan off into the crowd, his heart felt like it was sinking and he couldn’t tell exactly why.

After all, it was only a dance. With a practical stranger.

It wasn’t like he was missing out on all that much.

* * *

Deciding that some fresh air would do Jeremy some good, Ryan had dragged his friend out onto the balcony, and sat with him as he rambled on about some guy he had met and completely made a fool of himself in front of and would never see again even though he was his _soulmate_, Ryan, he had to be, and Jeremy had let him get away and never told him how he felt and even if he had, he had been acting like a total idiot and there was no way that his feelings would ever have been reciprocated and it wasn’t fair.

It was basically a normal drunk ramble for Jeremy. Although when Ryan pointed this out, Jeremy insisted something was different this time.

“He was special, Ryan. I-I never felt like this. It’s like our eyes met and we just connected instantly. I felt like I knew him before we ever even talked. Like it was meant to be.” Jeremy sighed, dropping his head onto Ryan’s shoulder and yawning. “I just wish I had told him. Before it was too late.”

“Mhm, maybe you’ll see him again,” Ryan said softly, a fond smile crossing his face as his best friend snuggled sleepily against his side. Drunk Jeremy has two moods, and tonight it seemed like he had fallen into the cuddly drunk category. This was definitely the preferable one considering fighty Jeremy was definitely not made for fancy parties like this. “If he’s really your soulmate like you said he was, you’ll find each other again.”

Jeremy made a quiet noise of disagreement, but was too tired to argue. Ryan chuckled softly, smoothing Jeremy’s hair away from his face. “I promise, Lil J. These things always work out. You’ll see.”

Not long after that, Jeremy’s breathing started to even out, indicating he had fallen asleep against him. Ryan waited until he was sure Jeremy was good and asleep before maneuvering him so he was laying down across the bench rather than leaning against Ryan’s shoulder. Then he shrugged off his jacket and draped it over Jeremy like a blanket, smiling slightly when the boy immediately snuggled into it.

In another lifetime, Ryan thought, maybe there could have been something between him and Jeremy. Maybe they were saved from all of this heartbreak by falling in love with one another, instead of chasing after people they would never see again.

It certainly would have been simpler, Ryan thinks, standing up and walking to the edge of the balcony to look out over the city. After all, he and Jeremy had known each other for years, worked together as the Battle Buddies for almost as long as he could remember. They were best friends. Falling in love should have been natural.

If only life was that easy.

Ryan wasn’t sure how long he stood there contemplating the woes of love, and how in a city like Los Santos it was almost impossible to fall in love without something bad happening in return. For years Ryan had refused to date anyone for that reason, knowing that something as soft as love had no place in life as cruel as his.

And yet…

Ryan couldn’t stop thinking about Gavin. Couldn’t stop thinking about his bright eyes, and his messily styled hair. His crooked and charming smile and the damn laugh that made Ryan forget how to breathe. The way he looked at Ryan so softly it made his heart melt and his brain malfunction and every damn time he touched him-

_Touch. _

Ryan grabbed the hand that had rested itself on his shoulder without thinking, pulling them around in front of him and pinning them against the railing before he could even process who was there.

The person chuckled, breathlessly, but amused, and said in a quiet voice “I didn’t realize you had such fast reflexes, love.”

“Gavin,” Ryan breathed, loosening his grip just slightly on the boy’s wrist, but making no move to step back away from him just yet. “Hasn’t anyone taught you not to sneak up on somebody? Especially in Los Santos.”

“Ryan, were you going to throw me off the balcony, Ryan?” Gavin teased, a broad smile crossing his face as he looked Ryan over, seeming in no rush himself to move from this position.

“Maybe,” Ryan replied, taking a step back away from Gavin in an attempt to collect himself. But Gavin followed, a small pout on his face as he rested both his hands on one of Ryan’s shoulders.

“Why would you do that, Lovely Ryan?” He asked, and Ryan felt his stomach flip when he looked down and their faces were only inches from each other. Gavin’s glasses were back on the top of his head, and Ryan could see his eyes perfectly in the moonlight. This close they looked even more beautiful than they had before, and Ryan found himself unable to look away as Gavin continued to talk. “Was it because you didn’t want to dance with me?”

“Maybe it’s because most people in this town don’t have friendly intentions when they touch you,” Ryan pointed out, his eyes flickering down to Gavin’s lips briefly as he thought about how easy it would be to lean in right there and kiss him.

If he was a bolder man, maybe he would of. But as it was Ryan was anything but bold, so he instead waited for Gavin to speak and make the next move.

“Does that mean you’ll dance with me now?” Gavin asked, something close to excitement seeping into his voice.

If it was anyone else, Ryan would have refused on sheer principle of the fact he doesn’t dance. But Gavin… well Gavin wasn’t anyone else.

“One dance,” Ryan agreed. “But no more than that.”

Gavin smiled widely, and Ryan knew in that moment he would dance as many times as Gavin asked him to. They had only just met, and already the boy had him wrapped around his finger.

Gavin grabbed Ryan’s hand, dragging him towards the middle of the balcony. As Gavin stepped closer, guiding Ryan’s right hand up to his shoulder and lacing their fingers with his other hand, he realized suddenly how fast his heart was racing.

Gavin must have noticed his panic, because his face softened almost instantly, and he let his free hand come up to cup Ryan’s face, rubbing his cheek with his thumb soothingly. “Don’t be scared, Ryan.”

Ryan let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, and looked down at Gavin. Any fear he was holding in that moment vanished. This, somehow, was righter than anything Ryan had felt in his life. “I’m not.”

Gavin let his hand rest on Ryan’s cheek for a moment longer before shifting it down to his shoulder.

“I apologize if I step on your toes,” Ryan said, laughing self-deprecatingly as looked down at their feet, trying to figure out how to move. “I haven’t danced since high school.”

“You won’t,” Gavin assures him, speaking with so much confidence Ryan couldn’t help but look back up at him in a mix of shock and wonder. “Just follow my lead, yeah?”

“Okay.”

* * *

Ryan wasn’t sure how long the two of them danced out there on the balcony, eyes only focused on each other as through the door the music and chatter of the party drifted out, creating a soft ambiance for them as they moved.

With every step Ryan felt himself falling further for Gavin. Every time the boy laughed his heart would stutter; every soft smile made his stomach erupt in a thousand butterflies.

A dozen times Ryan almost opened his mouth to say something, to try to put into words the things Gavin was making him feel, but no matter how hard he tried the words just never came.

At some point in their dancing, Gavin had moved closer, pressing his body up against Ryan’s and resting his head against his shoulder. It was obvious in the way that he held himself that Gavin was starting to get tired, but like Ryan, he didn’t seem to want to stop dancing just yet. Ryan didn’t mind, just adjusted his arms so he could better support Gavin’s weight as they continued to rock slowly together.

In all honesty, Ryan could have stayed there forever holding Gavin in his arms. If time froze forever in this moment then he could stay happy for the rest of his life. He would have stayed there forever if only…

“Gavin!”

Ryan felt Gavin sigh against his neck, sounding quite annoyed. He lifted his head at the same time Ryan turned his towards the sounding of the yelling, catching sight of two nearly identical boys running towards them.

“What could you two possibly want now?” Gavin hissed, glaring at the two boys over Ryan’s shoulder. At the same time, they made a gesture Ryan didn’t understand, but it must have meant something to Gavin because he tensed up, suddenly serious. “Where?”

“Over by the bathroom. I think he was getting ready to leave, we have to go,”

Gavin sighed again, looking up at Ryan sadly for a long moment before he took a step away, breaking whatever spell had been cast over them for so long.

Gavin hesitated, and then stepped forward, placing a kiss on Ryan’s cheek. “Thank you, Ryan, for such a lovely dance. I’ll never forget it.”

Then Gavin pulled his sunglasses back onto his face, and rolled his shoulders back before striding over towards his two friends. The three of them walked away without looking back, but Ryan watched them go until they disappeared from sight.

He might have stood there longer, of the sound of Jeremy calling his name hadn’t brought him crashing back to earth. “Rye-bread?”

Ryan spun around quickly, concern flooding him as he looked at Jeremy, who was half sitting up on the bench, rubbing his eyes sleepily and looking positively adorable.

Any other time Ryan would be teasing him. But right now, he just didn’t feel in the mood.

“How you feeling, Jer?” Ryan asked, making sure to keep his voice soft as he walked back over to his best friend, crouching down beside.

Jeremy laughed humorously, and then winced, his voice rough as he replied: “I think I drank too much, Ryan.”

“Yeah no kidding,” Ryan smiled, despite the fact his heart felt like it was being ripped out of his chest. He didn’t have time to be upset over Gavin. Right now, Jeremy needed him. “I think we should probably get you home, Jer. Get you some water and something to eat so you can go to sleep.”

“I want to get in the tub,” Jeremy protested, and Ryan couldn’t stop himself from laughing softly. Tub Jeremy meant that he had to be extra drunk. It also meant Ryan was going to get some great pictures for blackmail.

“You can get in the tub at home,” Ryan assured him, standing up and offering a hand to Jeremy. “Do you think you can walk?”

Jeremy shook his head slightly, putting on his best puppy dog face as he reached out his arms. “Carry me?”

Ryan sighed, leaning down to scoop Jeremy up in his arms, which made the boy let out a happy sound of content as he immediately latched his arms around Ryan’s neck.

“Thank you, Rye-bread. You’re the best.”

Ryan pinched Jeremy’s side, feigning annoyance as he grabbed his jacket before heading towards the door. “You’re a pain in my ass.”

Jeremy didn’t say anything, but he cuddled closer to Ryan as he carried him through the party and towards the car. It was only after Ryan had set him down and helped him buckle in the car that Jeremy grabbed his arm, stopping Ryan from closing the door.

For a moment, Jeremy seemed strangely sober as he searched Ryan’s eyes, finally whispering “I’m sorry that things didn’t work out.”

Ryan furrowed his eyebrows, not sure if it was Jeremy speaking or the alcohol, or what he was apologizing for in the first place. “What do you mean?”

“With the boy you were dancing with,” Jeremy said, and Ryan felt his heart leap into his throat at the mere mention of Gavin. “I’ve never seen you look at someone like that, Ry. I’m sorry you didn’t get to be with him longer.”

Ryan swallowed thickly, trying to pretend like Jeremy hadn’t hit the nail on the head and put into words what he had been trying to avoid thinking about.

“Yeah, well, I guess it wasn’t meant to work out. It’s fine. He was just some guy anyways.”

“No, he wasn’t.” Of course, even drunk Jeremy could see right through Ryan’s bullshit and to his heart.

“No. He wasn’t.” Ryan agreed, pulling Jeremy’s hand off his arm and shutting the door, ending the discussion before Jeremy could push it any farther.

Maybe Gavin wasn’t just some guy.

It didn’t matter.

Ryan was never going to see him again. So it was better he get over him now rather than indulge in any fantasy that things could have turned out differently.


End file.
